Under-fire Helix High assistant principal is fired

LA MESA – The Helix High School assistant principal who came under fire for giving a student a ride to a bus station has been fired. The charter school's governing board voted unanimously Monday to terminate the administrator's contract “without cause,” officials said.

School officials would not comment on the matter and instead issued a prepared statement.

“This decision was made with the best interest of the school and community in mind,” the memo stated. “The Charter Governing Board members will not be commenting further on this matter, as discussion of confidential personnel matters is prohibited by law.”

Joshua Stepner violated school policy when he drove a 16-year-old student to the bus station for a trip to her grandmother's house. A Helix policy bans employees from having students in their vehicles.

Stepner faces one misdemeanor count of contributing to the delinquency of a minor. If convicted, Stepner could be sentenced to one year in jail or a fine not to exceed $2,500.

Since 2006, four teachers have been convicted of sex crimes involving Helix High students. The string of incidents prompted the campus to adopt strict a teacher-student behavior code that was implemented when school started this year.

Stepner was hired after the teacher scandals and has not been accused of any inappropriate relations with students.

Stepner is listed on the charter school's Web site as the 10th-grade principal.